Archive Version of
Partners Task Force for Gay and Lesbian Couples
Online from 1995-2022

Demian and Steve Bryant originally founded Partners as a monthly newsletter in 1986. By late 1990 it was reformatted into a bi-monthly magazine. Print publication was halted by 1995 when Demian published Partners as a Web site, which greatly expanded readership.

In 1988, the Partners National Survey of Lesbian & Gay Couples report was published; the first major U.S. survey on same-sex couples in a decade.

In 1996, Demian produced The Right to Marry, a video documentary based on the dire need for equality that was made clear by the data from the survey mentioned above. The video featured interviews with Rev. Mel White, Evan Wolfson, Phyllis Burke, Richard Mohr, Kevin Cathcart, Faygele benMiriam, Benjamin Cable-McCarthy, Susan Reardon, Frances Fuchs, Tina Podlodowski, and Chelle Mileur.

Demian has been the sole operator during the last two decades of Partners.

Demian stopped work on Partners Task Force in order to realize his other time-consuming projects, which include publishing the book “Operating Manual for Same-Sex Couples: Navigating the rules, rites & rights” - which is now available on Amazon. The book is based on the Partners Survey mentioned above, his interviews of scores of couples, and 36 years of writing hundreds of articles about same-sex couples. It’s also been informed by his personal experience in a 20-year, same-sex relationship.

Demian’s other project is to publish his “Photo Stories by Demian” books based on his more than six decades as a photographer and writer.


Partners Task Force for Gay & Lesbian Couples
Demian, director    206-935-1206    demian@buddybuddy.com    Seattle, WA    Founded 1986

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Media Resources
Ceremonial Marriage
© May 25, 2010, Demian

Out-of-print books may be found at used book stores or libraries. Availability and costs change often, so it’s best to contact distributors before ordering.

—— Books ——

Ceremonies of the Heart: Celebrating lesbian unions
edited by Becky Butler (1990), $14.95 +$2.24 p&h, Seal Press, 3131 Western Ave., #410, Seattle, WA98121-1028; 206-283-7844.
Couples describe 27 ceremonies and their relationships.

Daring to Speak Love’s Name: A gay & lesbian prayer book
by Dr. Elizabeth Stuart (1992), $10, Hamish Hamilton - London; distributed by Penguin Books, 375 Hudson St., New York, NY 10014.
Prayers for celebrating relationships, coming out; partings, healing liturgies and deaths.

The Essential Guide to Lesbian and Gay Weddings
by Tess Ayers and Paul Brown (1994), $17, Harper San Francisco (HarperCollins, 10 East 53 St., New York, NY 10022).
From Affidavit of domestic partnership to Vichud (seclusion tradition); the minutia of ceremonial wedding events and how to plan for them.

In God’s Image: Christian Witness to the Need for Gay/Lesbian Equality in the Eyes of the Church
by Robert Warren Cromey (1991), $9.95, Alamo Square Press, Box 14543, San Francisco, CA 94114.
Episcopal priest agues for same-sex marriage.

In Praise of Gay Marriage
(1986), biblical tracts #4-7, 10 cents ea., $1.50 min. order +$1.50 p&h, Puget Sound Publishing Group, 3401 Rucker, East Suite, Everett, WA 98201, 206-339-8338.
Contends that Jesus and John were married.

Lesbian & Gay Marriage: Private commitments, public ceremonies
edited by Suzanne Sherman (1992), $16.95, Temple University Press, Philadelphia PA 19122.
Essays on ceremonial marriage and 24 interviews focused on why the couples married or chose not to. Includes an article from Partners Task Force directors.

Living in Sin?: A Bishop Rethinks Human Sexuality
by John Shelby Spong (1988), $15.95, Harper & Row, Icehouse One, #401, 151 Union St., San Francisco, CA 94111.
Includes arguments for blessing same-sex relationships.

Recognizing Ourselves: Ceremonies of Lesbian and Gay Commitment
by Ellen Lewin (1998) $17/paper $30/hard, Columbia University Press, New York.
Includes analysis of the symbolic strategies same-sex couples use in devising their ceremonies; lengthy excerpts from many different kinds of ceremonies, and extensive narrative material from couples.

Report on the Task Force on Changing Patterns of Sexuality and Family Life
send SASE with $.76 postage to Episcopal Diocese of Newark, 24 Rector St., Newark, NJ 07102.
Endorses homosexual marriage.

Resource Guide for Same-Sex Couples (1988); In the Presence of God … A Quaker Marriage
(1988), $5.50 for both, Family Relations Committee, Friends Center, 1515 Cherry St., Philadelphia, PA 19102.
Helps couples and meetings prepare for the vows of marriage.

Same-Sex Unions in Premodern Europe
by John Boswell (1994), $25, Villard Books (Random House), 201 E. 50th St., New York, NY 10022; 800-733-3000.
Newly rediscovered liturgies from early Catholic and Orthodox, used throughout Christendom into modern times; contextualized in a detailed, academic treatment.

The Two of Us
by Larry J. Uhrig, OUT OF PRINT, Alyson Publications, Boston, MA.
MCC pastor’s approach to same-sex marriage.

Religious Support for Ceremonial Marriage
Religious Support for the Legal Right to Marry

We welcome additions and updates. Please contact us with the following:

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